1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a product lifecycle data management system and a product lifecycle data management method. More particularly, the present invention relates to a product lifecycle data management system which can manage data for each cycle of a product lifecycle of products distributed in a market, and a product lifecycle data management method of using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A modern distribution system is based on mass production and mass consumption. In this system, a product produced in a factory has a product lifecycle. That is, firstly, the product is produced in a production part of the product lifecycle. Then, the product is shipped from the production part to a distribution part of the product lifecycle, such as a warehouse. Next, the product is placed on the market in a sales and service part of the product lifecycle. Then, the sold product is collected as a used product, and is eventually discarded to be recycled in discarding and recycling part of the product lifecycle. Each of the product lifecycle parts (mainly, the production part, the distribution part, the sales and service part, and the discarding and recycling part) comes to be varied corresponding to widening and enlarging of the distribution market of the products and varying products.
Especially, it is becoming a mainstream practice for the manufacturers to have to be responsible for the products in the last phase of the product lifecycle, in view of the rising needs of the distribution market in terms of caring for environment issues, even with respect to the section where used products are finally reached after collecting, discarding and recycling. Therefore, it is essentially important for the manufacturers supplying the products to the market to manage data of the products in each part of the product lifecycle.
As an example of a method for managing the product lifecycle, a technique for managing the product lifecycle by using a Radio Frequency Identification (hereinafter referred to as RFID) tag attached to a product is disclosed in the Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP2000-48066). In this technique, the RFID tag, which includes memory for storage of data related to a product, is attached to the product. Then, by reading out the data from the RFID tag, a state of the product is ascertained. In this technique, a lifecycle database used to manage the product lifecycle is provided at each distribution hub. Data more detailed than that stored in the RFID tag is stored in the database.
The data stored in the database are related to the data stored in the RFID tag to be organized in order to manage the data. Each of the databases is provided to a corresponding one of a production control system of a manufacture, marketing management systems of distributors, marketing management systems of retailers, service management systems of companies dealing with maintenance and services, and management systems of the discarding/recycling companies. These plural databases are connected each other by a network so as to permit access to each data. In this conventional method for managing the product lifecycle, these companies collaborate with each other with respect to the data regarding the products.
The product data in the database provided in each system hub are managed only by a product ID. An information terminal connected with the network can access the database at any place in the network by using the product ID. In this way, the data in the database provided in each system hub can be effectively utilized without any geographic or time constraints
A person who knows the product ID to access the database can freely access the data of the product stored in the database. In order to utilize the data in the database more effectively in each system hub, it is necessary to improve security level such as an access restriction wherein only the person who registers his/her personal data can access the database. In a system where a great deal of products have to be processed at short time, such as a repair system hub and the like, it is necessary for a person in charge in the system to carefully prevent a failure, that is, a mismatch between data stored in an RFID tag and the data in a database when the data in the RFID tag is rewritten and quickly notified to the database.
A system with high reliability is desired, that is accessible to the database from any place in the network by using product ID and in which the mismatch between data stored in the RFID tag and the data in the database does not occur.